Streaming data on data processes

ABSTRACT

A method, system and computer program product for servicing media content. In one embodiment, the media content is processed by having each of a group of services process increments of the media content, one increment at a time; and the order in which the services process these increments is orchestrated to process all of the media content in accordance with a defined procedure. In one embodiment, the increments of the media content are passed, one increment after another, to at least a plurality of the services in a defined order. In an embodiment, each time one of the plurality of services passes one of the increments of the media content to a subsequent one of the services in the defined order, the one of the plurality of services requests another increment of the media content from a preceding one of the services in the defined order.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to processing data, and morespecifically, to processing media content in an incremental manner by asequence of services.

In processes that involve media processing services, there is always aneed to communicate the media content from service to service. As oneservice completes its processing, the service sends the processed mediacontent to the next service in the workflow. Since media content islarge, a considerable amount of time may be needed before being able toinvoke the next service.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system and computerprogram product for servicing media content. In one embodiment, themethod comprises using a multitude of services to process the mediacontent by having each of the services process increments of the mediacontent, one increment at a time; and orchestrating the order in whichthe services process the increments of the media content to process allof the media content in accordance with a defined procedure.

In an embodiment, content operations are requested from each of themultitude of services; and each of said services, in response to therequest for content operations, indicates that said each servicesupports processing of increments of the media content.

In one embodiment, one of said services is a last service in saiddefined procedure; and after this last service has finished processingall of the increments of the media content, this last service indicatesthat the defined procedure to process all of the media content iscomplete.

In an embodiment, this last service requests an additional increment ofthe media content at multiple times; and in response to one of theserequests for an additional increment of the media content, a message issent to this last service indicating that no more data is to beprocessed by said last service.

In one embodiment, this last service indicates that the definedprocedure is complete after the last service receives this message.

In an embodiment, each of a first group of the services obtains theincrements of the media content from another one of the services.

In one embodiment, a message is sent to each service of the first groupof the services identifying the other one of the services from whichsaid each service obtains the increments of the media content.

In an embodiment, each service of the first group of services isinformed of a specified port from which said each service obtains theincrements of the media content.

In one embodiment, the increments of the media content are passed, oneincrement after another, to at least a plurality of the services in adefined order.

In an embodiment, each time one of said plurality of services passes oneof the increments of the media content to a subsequent one of theservices in the defined order, the one of the plurality of servicesrequests another one of the increments of the media content from apreceding one of the services in the defined order.

Embodiments of the invention enable the processing of media content in apipeline mode. Data are produced and consumed incrementally. This allowsa workflow to complete much faster, increasing the efficiency of thewhole process.

Embodiments of the invention provide a rich media middleware system andservices that produce and consume media content. Embodiments of theinvention configure the services to create and process contentincrementally. Embodiments of the invention also define how data areexchanged among services in order to be processed sequentially as partof a workflow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a media content flow in accordance with an embodimentof the invention.

FIG. 2 shows the state diagram implemented by a service in embodimentsof the invention.

FIG. 3 depicts an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows two examples of a media workflow execution, one without theinvention and one with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a computing environment in which embodiments of theinvention may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of thepresent invention may be embodied as a system, method or computerprogram product. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention maytake the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely softwareembodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) oran embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in any tangible medium of expressionhaving computer usable program code embodied in the medium.

Any combination of one or more computer usable or computer readablemedium(s) may be utilized. The computer-usable or computer-readablemedium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus,device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustivelist) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: anelectrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computerdiskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CDROM), an optical storage device, a transmission media such as thosesupporting the Internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device.Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even bepaper or another suitable medium, upon which the program is printed, asthe program can be electronically captured, via, for instance, opticalscanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, orotherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then storedin a computer memory. In the context of this document, a computer-usableor computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.The computer-usable medium may include a propagated data signal with thecomputer-usable program code embodied therewith, either in baseband oras part of a carrier wave. The computer usable program code may betransmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited towireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentinvention may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages, including an object oriented programming language such asJava, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer,partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partlyon the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely onthe remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remotecomputer may be connected to the user's computer through any type ofnetwork, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network(WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (forexample, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

The present invention is described below with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) andcomputer program products according to embodiments of the invention. Itwill be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/orblock diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may beprovided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purposecomputer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce amachine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor ofthe computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, createmeans for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchartand/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer programinstructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that candirect a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus tofunction in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored inthe computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture includinginstruction means which implement the function/act specified in theflowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/actsspecified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

Embodiments of the invention provide a method, system and computerprogram product to process media content, and more specifically, tostream media content in content-centric business processes. Withreference to FIG. 1, embodiments of the invention use a processorchestration engine 102 and media services 104 that can participate ina process. Generally, the orchestration engine 102 executes workflows(processes) involving media services, and the orchestration enginecontrols the execution flow by calling the services in the appropriatesequence and by setting up the services for the exchange of incrementaldata. The services 104 interact with each other to produce and consumethe media content incrementally. In embodiments of the invention, mediaservices in a workflow can be processing the same media contentconcurrently (but with each service working on different parts of themedia content).

In embodiments of the invention, the services 104 implement two separateinterfaces: one to communicate with the orchestration engine 102, andanother for the exchange of data.

In the example shown in FIG. 1, three services support the incrementaldata exchange. Service 1 creates content, Service 2 transforms content,and Service 3 stores the content.

At 112, orchestration engine 102 sends a request message to Service 1 toproduce a content. The request also inquires if the service supportsincremental data creation. At 114, Service 1 sends an acknowledgementmessage to the orchestration engine 102 indicating that the Servicesupports creation of incremental data, and informing the orchestrationengine of the port (port “a”) where the created data will be madeavailable.

At 116, the orchestration engine 102 invokes Service 2 to transform thecontent. The request message informs Service 2 that Service 1 isproducing the data incrementally at port “a.” The request message alsoasks if Service 2 can handle incremental data and what port Service 2uses to stream the transformed data. At 120, Service 2, sends anacknowledgement message to the orchestration engine indicating that theService supports incremental data, and specifying the port (port “b”)the Service uses for the transformed data.

At 122, Service 2 requests data from Service 1 through port “a.” At 124,a first piece of data is transferred from Service 1 to Service 2 forprocessing. In embodiments of the invention, subsequent pieces of dataare transferred from Service 1 to Service 2 every time a processed pieceof content is moved along in the workflow.

At 126, Service 3 is called by the orchestration engine 102 and informedthat content for consumption is available at port “b” of Service 2.Service 3 is also asked if it can handle incremental data. At 130,Service 3 sends an acknowledgement message to the orchestration engineto inform the orchestration engine that Service 3 supports incrementaldata and makes the processed data available at port “c.”

At 132, Service 3 requests data from Service 2 through port “b.” A firstpiece of data is moved to Service 3 for processing. Since Service 3 isthe last service in the chain, there will be no request to get processeddata from Service 3. At 134, as processed content from Service 2 ismoved along to Service 3, Service 2 asks for more content from Service1.

The above-described interaction between services 104 through therespective ports continues until all pieces of data are moved fromService 1 to Service 3. If a Service requests more data and receives aresponse indicating that there is no more data, this indicates that therequesting service has reached the end of the content. When thishappens, the service sends a notification message, for instance at 136and 140, to the orchestration engine 102 informing the orchestrationengine that the service has completed the request from the orchestrationengine.

FIG. 2 is a state diagram to be implemented by a service to supportincremental data processing in embodiments of the invention. At state202, the service is idle, and when the service receives a request fromthe orchestration engine 102, the service moves to a setup state 204,where the service prepares to perform the service it provides. From thesetup state, the service transitions to state 206. At this state 206,the service reads input, which may be data from a previous service. Asthe service reads the input, some data may be put in a buffer, asrepresented at 210.

When ready, the service processes data and outputs processed data, asrepresented at 212 and 214. Processed data may be temporarily stored ina buffer, as represented at 216. After outputting data, the servicereturns to state 206 to process more data. This process is repeateduntil the service receives a message that no more data is available.When this occurs, the service, at 220, sends a message to theorchestration engine 102 indicating that the request from theorchestration engine has been completed. The service then returns to theidle state 202.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention, comprisingan orchestration layer 302, a mediation layer 304, and a services layer306; and in this embodiment, five services 310 are provided. Inoperation, the orchestration layer executes workflows involving mediaservices, and the orchestration layer controls the execution flow bycalling the services in the appropriate sequence and by setting up theservices for the exchange of incremental data. The services 310 interactwith each other to produce and consume the media content incrementally;and the media services in the workflow can be processing the same mediaconcurrently, but with each service working on different parts of themedia content.

The orchestration layer 306 may implement a program, represented at 312,which determines whether, and in what order, the services 310 areinvoked. With the embodiment represented in FIG. 3, not all the servicesare performed for each increment of data. Depending on the decisionsmade in program 312 at 314, some data will be processed by Service 3 andother data will be processed by Service 4.

Mediation layer 304 implements the two separate interfaces: one for thecommunications between the orchestration layer 302 and the serviceslayer 306, and another for the exchange of data.

Embodiments of the invention allow a workflow to complete much faster,increasing the efficiency of the entire media processing. As an example,FIG. 4 shows, at 402, how long it may take to process media content in aconventional manner and, at 404, how long it may take to process thatmedia content by using an embodiment of this invention.

With the examples shown in FIG. 4, the media content is data from a highdefinition camera, and the media content is processed by five services406. With the conventional approach 402, all the data, 500 GB, from thecamera, is fully processed by each service, one service at a time. Eachof the first three services takes an hour to process the data, thefourth service takes 1.6 hours, and the last service takes ten minutes.The processing thus takes four hours and forty-six minutes.

With using an embodiment of the invention, the 500 GB input from thecamera are processed in 1 GB increments. When the first service finishesprocessing an increment of data, that data is passed to the secondservice and the first service begins to process another increment of theinput data. When the second service finishes processing this incrementof data, that increment of data is passed to the third service. Thesecond service, at about the same time, receives a second increment ofdata from the first service.

The increments of data are processed and passed in this way, from oneservice to the next, until all the data have been received and processedby the last service. Each of the first four services takes approximatelyten seconds to process each increment of data; and the last service,repository, takes about 1.6 hours to process all the data. The entireamount of time needed to process the input from the camera isapproximately one hour and thirty-seven minutes, which is aboutone-third of the times required by the current approach.

A computer-based system 500 in which embodiments of the invention may becarried out is depicted in FIG. 5. The computer-based system 500includes a processing unit 510, which houses a processor, memory andother systems components (not shown expressly in the drawing) thatimplement a general purpose processing system, or computer that mayexecute a computer program product. The computer program product maycomprise media, for example a compact storage medium such as a compactdisc, which may be read by the processing unit 510 through a disc drive520, or by any means known to the skilled artisan for providing thecomputer program product to the general purpose processing system forexecution thereby.

The computer program product may comprise all the respective featuresenabling the implementation of the inventive method described herein,and which—when loaded in a computer system—is able to carry out themethod. Computer program, software program, program, or software, in thepresent context means any expression, in any language, code or notation,of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having aninformation processing capability to perform a particular functioneither directly or after either or both of the following: (a) conversionto another language, code or notation; and/or (b) reproduction in adifferent material form.

The computer program product may be stored on hard disk drives withinprocessing unit 510, as mentioned, or may be located on a remote systemsuch as a server 530, coupled to processing unit 510, via a networkinterface such as an Ethernet interface. Monitor 540, mouse 550 andkeyboard 560 are coupled to the processing unit 510, to provide userinteraction. Scanner 580 and printer 570 are provided for document inputand output. Printer 570 is shown coupled to the processing unit 510 viaa network connection, but may be coupled directly to the processingunit. Scanner 580 is shown coupled to the processing unit 510 directly,but it should be understood that peripherals might be network coupled,or direct coupled without affecting the performance of the processingunit 510.

The description of the present invention has been presented for purposesof illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive orto limit the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope of the invention. The embodiments werechosen and described in order to explain the principles and applicationof the invention, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art tounderstand the invention. The invention may be implements in variousembodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particularuse contemplated.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A system for servicing media content, comprising:one or more processing units configured for: providing a multitude ofservices to process the media content; using each of the services toprocess increments of the media content, one increment at a time; andorchestrating the order in which the services process the increments ofthe media content to process all of the media content in accordance witha defined procedure.
 12. The system according to claim 11, wherein: oneof said services is a last service in said defined procedure; and theusing each of the services to process increments of the media contentincludes, after said last service has finished processing all of theincrements of the media content, said last service indicating that thedefined procedure to process all of the media content is complete. 13.The system according to claim 12, wherein the using each of the servicesfurther includes: said last service requesting an additional incrementof the media content at multiple times; in response to one of therequests for an additional increment of the media content, sending tosaid last service a message indicating that no more data is to beprocessed by said last service; and after said last service receivessaid message, the last service indicating that the defined procedure iscomplete.
 14. The system according to claim 11, wherein theorchestrating includes: each of a first group of the services obtainingthe increments of the media content from another one of the services;and identifying to each service of the first group of the services theother one of the services from which said each service obtains theincrements of the media content.
 15. The system according to claim 11,wherein: the orchestrating includes passing the multitude of increments,one increment after another, to at least a plurality of the services ina defined order; and each time one of said plurality of services passesone of the increments of the media content to a subsequent one of theservices in the defined order, said one of the plurality of servicesrequests another one of the increments of the media content from apreceding one of the services in the defined order.
 16. An article ofmanufacture comprising: at least one tangible computer readable devicehaving computer readable program code logic tangibly embodied therein toprovide a multitude of services for processing media content, thecomputer readable program code logic, when executing, performing thefollowing: using the multitude of services to process the media contentby having each of the services process increments of the media content,one increment at a time; and orchestrating the order in which theservices process the increments of the media content to process all ofthe media content in accordance with a defined procedure.
 17. Thearticle of manufacture according to claim 16, wherein: one of saidservices is a last service in said defined procedure; and the using themultitude of services to process the media content includes, after saidlast service has finished processing all of the increments of the mediacontent, said last service indicating that the defined procedure toprocess all of the media content is complete.
 18. The article ofmanufacture according to claim 17, wherein the using the multitude ofservices further includes: said last service requesting an additionalincrement of the media content at multiple times; in response to one ofthe requests for an additional increment of the media content, sendingto said last service a message indicating that no more data is to beprocessed by said last service; and after said last service receivessaid message, the last service indicating that the defined procedure iscomplete.
 19. The article of manufacture according to claim 16, whereinthe orchestrating includes: each of a first group of the servicesobtaining the increments of the media content from another one of theservices; and identifying to each service of the first group of theservices the other one of the services from which said each serviceobtains the increments of the media content.
 20. The article ofmanufacture according to claim 16, wherein: the orchestrating includespassing the multitude of increments, one increment after another, to atleast a plurality of the services in a defined order; and each time oneof said plurality of services passes one of the increments of the mediacontent to a subsequent one of the services in the defined order, saidone of the plurality of services requests another one of the incrementsof the media content from a preceding one of the services in the definedorder. 21-25. (canceled)